Numerous studies over the years have stressed the importance of strong relationships between home and school to support students to develop.This means the day to day contact parents have with the school (via class blogs, ManageBac and meeting with teachers)and the special meeting such as last weeks Middle School Parents and Teachers evening and the upcoming Elementary School 3 way conferences. It also means the chances that the PTA create to allow parents to be part of the ISS family and to arrange social events.Two upcoming PTA events are:

PTA meeting: Monday, 7 November at 8am, Paterson ES MPR.Guest speaker, Dr. van der Donk who is a Developmental Psychologist from the Netherlands who will be discussing:

How executive functions relate to functioning in everyday life as well as learning skills

Sharyn Skrtic our Elementary Principal will also be discussing the mother tongue program at ES.

PTA QUIZ NIGHT: 25 November, 7pm.An evening to meet other parents, teachers and guardians of our community where you can show off your trivia skills, guaranteed to be fun. There will be finger food, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) sold during the night. Ticket cost is only SGD15 per person which includes a welcome drink and snacks. Regrettably no ISS students or under 18's allowed. Send an email to pta@iss.edu.sg to reserve your tickets.

Elementary School News

Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th DecemberThis is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650. Please save the date and keep an eye on this blog for further details.

3 Way Conferences and Book Fair Wednesday November 16th

The 3 Way Conferences will take place on 16th November. At the same time there will be a book fair in the library so it will be great chance to browse and buy books whilst you are up at school with your children.Parents will have the chance to discuss their child's learning with their child and their child's class teachers.

Parents should sign up for an appointment time using the links that will be sent to you at 3pm on Tuesday 8th November.Sign ups will close at 2:30 pm on Tuesday November 15th to enable staff to prepare for the day.

Talented Teachers

Margaret Alvarez and Derek Pinchbeck presented at the EARCOS Leadership Conference in Kuala Lumpur last week.YanPing Zhao will be leading a PYP Workshop in Beijing this weekend.Marnie Hurst, Gemma Cass and Ariana Rehu will present workshops this weekend at PYPConnect, a conference for PYP teachers, hosted by ISS.

Middle School (MS) News Another great week in the Middle School. School photos went off very smoothly on Tuesday. Wednesday we had day one of the Parent (and guardian) Teacher Conferences (PTC). A vibrant atmosphere full of rich conversations ensued. Still time to sign up for the second round of PTC on Wednesday 9th November from 3pm- 6pm. Parents and guardians can catch up with any teacher you missed out on during the first PTC, if you feel the need. There will be a book fair in the Paterson Library happening this Wednesday from 2pm-6pm. Take advantage of all the latest in reading materials before or after the PTC.

Tonight is the much anticipated Halloween Disco. Well done Ms Kalaw and the Student Council for putting on what can only be described as one of THE social events of the Singapore calendar.

Week Without Walls is coming up fast. The first trip (to Sabah, Borneo) leaves on Sunday 13th November. Whilst the trips to Telunas, Indonesia and Sok Sabay, Cambodia depart the next day. The website for all departure times, packing lists, latest news and daily trip updates (where connection is possible) can be found at: http://msweekwithoutwalls2016-17.weebly.com/

Our Sambutan (assembly) and pastoral period in the upcoming week will be centred around preparing students for the learning and cultural experience of their respective trip. The students participating in the Discover Singapore trip will have a wonderful opportunity to do some volunteer work, get into exploring Singapore and embrace the culinary diversity that is Singapore. A great experience.